Kamnik is a small town, where we have our accomodation before we traveled to the Lake Bled. We had a nice dinner in a local restaturant, then we went to sleep early befor the main attraction of our trip.
The next morning we wasted no time and headed straight for Lake Bled, the jewel of the Julian Alps. There are places that you see so many times in photos that you think they can’t surprise you anymore – but Bled is not like that.
After finding a parking lot with great difficulty, we set off for a walk around the lake. Beautiful villas stand on the hillsides, and a multitude of hotels and restaurants await visitors. We had breakfast at one of the lakeside restaurants, then set off towards the castle on the shore, which is a good 4-5 kilometers away.
The small island in the middle of the lake is the only natural island in the country. There are 99 steps leading up to the Church of the Assumption in the middle. There is also a lovely wedding tradition here: the groom must carry the bride up these 99 steps on his lap if they want a happy marriage.
Inside the church is the famous “wish-fulfilling bell”. According to legend, whoever rings the bell will have a secret wish fulfilled. The story of the bell is sad: a young widow cast it in memory of her missing husband, but the bell sank to the bottom of the lake during a storm. It is said that on quiet nights its sound can still be heard from the depths – and the current bell in the church was donated by the Pope himself later.
Next, we set our sights on Bled Castle, built on a steep cliff overlooking the lake. This is the oldest castle in Slovenia; its first written mention dates back to 1011, when Holy Roman Emperor Henry II donated the region to the Bishopric of Brixen.
As we reached the castle courtyard, the entire lake lay at our feet. The castle itself is a real medieval journey through time: we visited the printing house, where commemorative plates are still made on a Gutenberg-style machine, and the blacksmith shop. The most interesting thing was probably the small chapel with its baroque frescoes, but I must admit that we spent most of our time on the terrace, because it offers a certain “postcard view” of the island.
The visit would not have been complete without tasting the famous Bled cream cake (Kremna rezina). We sat in a local pastry shop, and while eating the foamy, vanilla cake, we realized that the secret of Bled lies in its harmony: it is a mixture of nature, history and tranquility that is difficult to find anywhere else.
